An Unlikely Truce
by yourLastLove
Summary: Set in the beginning of The Goblet of Fire. Dudley is starving when his parents put him on a very strict diet. Harry has the answer for him hidden away under his floorboards... Is it time for a truce? R&R please Rated T to be safe (: DISCLAIMER.
1. Prologue

Dudley was more miserable than ever, and Harry was certainly the object of stress-release for the very large boy. He'd only had a grapefruit quarter for breakfast, and that had put the little (or not) Dursley in the foulest of moods. He was currently sitting on top of Harry, holding his glasses up where he couldn't reach, and calling him names.

Beneath him, Harry couldn't breathe. "Please... Dudley... Get... Off..." He gasped. He'd stopped bothering trying to reach his circular black glasses.

"No!" Dudley shouted like a two year old. "This is all your fault!"

"How... is... it... my... fault..." Harry choked. All the air was being forced out of his lungs, he was surprised all of his ribs hadn't broken yet. He knew that he didn't want to break another bone after he'd lost all of the bones in his left arm during his second year, and had them regrown very painfully over night. He wasn't about to chance breaking his much more important ribs as well. "My... godfather... will... not... like... this..."

"I don't care about your stupid godfather! My parents are going to kill me anyway! With fruit!"

"I'll make you a deal!" Harry pleaded, all in one breath.

After a few seconds consideration, Dudley's curiosity won over him and he climbed off of Harry. "What kind of deal could _you_ make with _me_?" He asked, skeptical.

"I have a ton of cakes hidden in my room." Harry told him in a panic, regretting it immediately. "I'll share them with you if you can be nice." This would be a very interesting truce. Dudley couldn't be nice to Harry, it just wasn't in his nature. But he also couldn't resist cakes, especially on a diet such as his.

"... fine." Dudley growled. "Prove it."

The two went upstairs to where Harry told Dudley to turn around and close his eyes, and that if he peaked, he's turn him into a toad. Now, the Dursleys knew that Harry could not use magic outside of Hogwarts – a name that was strictly forbidden inside the Dursley house – but Dudley had had enough of being turned into strange things in the summer before Harry's first year, when Hagrid – a half giant and keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts – had come given Dudley a pig tail when he found Dudley eating Harry's birthday cake. More proof that Dudley couldn't resist cake.

"Turn around." Harry said, and when Dudley did, there was a big slice of chocolate cake with strawberries and magical whipped cream on top that wouldn't melt.

"Blimey," Dudley cooed to himself before launching himself at Harry.

Hedwig saved him though, when she swooshed beneath Dudley's nose, tickling him with her feathers, and warranting a great big sneeze from the whale sized boy.

"Do we have a deal?" Harry asked, holding the cake out behind him with his left hand, and his right arm outstretched to shake Dudley's.

"Truce..." Dudley mumbled, clearly moping. He snatched the plate away from Harry like a starved animal (which Harry supposed he was exactly) when Harry offered it, and devoured the piece of cake like a hyena.

Harry tried not to laugh at the disgusting sight. Dudley had chocolate covering his face and hands, and there was a strawberry slice stuck to his cheek.

"You'd better wash up before your mum and dad see." Harry said, smirking inwardly at himself.

"Right," Dudley said, and then in hopes for another slice of cake later, he added, "Thanks."

Harry could certainly get used to this...

**A/N: A very short prologue to a probably not so short story. I hope you enjoyed! If you have any ideas about the story please feel free to send them in. I have the whole thing plotted out already in my head but if you'd like something added I'll try my best to fit it in!**


	2. Prologue II

"Mm, I love carrots for dinner," Harry said at the dinner table that night. He was greatly looking forward to going upstairs afterward and munching down on the cakes sent by his saintly friends and godfather. Speaking of which... he really did need to write him back...

Dudley had already finished his carrots, and was obviously now waiting for Harry to make the next move.

"Oh don't be so ungrateful," Aunt Petunia spit. "You're lucky we took you in! You're lucky we feed you!"

"Well... I don't know if _feed_ is the right word for it..." Harry shrugged, biting into another carrot.

"We don't feed you?" Uncle Vernon said with fake humor, a fake laugh following it. His face began to glow purple as it did many times a day. "Don't feed you, ha! I'll show you what not feeding is!" He snatched the plate of carrot sticks away from Harry and began to chow down.

"Vernon!" Petunia shrieked, nodding her head towards Dudley, who couldn't help but notice the extra filling his father had gotten.

"Doesn't matter, I was just going upstairs to write my godfather anyway, I'm not feeling too hungry tonight." He stood and watched Dudley and his parents all stare with round mouths as he made his way towards the stairs.

"Harry, Harry, I'm sure your-" Uncle Vernon started, but Harry pushed around him and continued up.

He'd just sat down at his desk with a largeish slice of cake, a quill in his hand, when the door creaked open. "Y..you're.. not really going to tell your godfather are you, Harry?" Dudley stuttered out in a voice much like that of a scared three year old.

Harry shrugged. "Did you want some?" Dudley nodded enthusiastically and turned around, ready for Harry to find his hiding place full of delicious sweets. "Here you are."

"Thanks," Dudley said between hungry mouthfuls as he devoured the cake slice.

Harry turned back to his desk, ready to write to Serius.

"So then... what's he like anyway?" A tiny voice asked from the bed.

Harry turned around to see Dudley seated at the head of his bed, eyeing him nervously. "Who?"

"Your g..g..godfather." He finally got out.

"Oh... he's nice." Harry said simply.

"Wasn't he in prison?"

Harry grinned to himself before turning around to face his cousin. The letter could wait.

"Well he was, and then he escaped, and then they got him back, and then I broke him out." Harry wasn't worried about telling the wizard-frightened muggle these things. Really who would he tell?

"O.. oh. I.. I see." Harry grinned and finished his cake. "So... how'd you do it?" Dudley asked. He could hate wizards and magic and Harry all he liked, but that couldn't take away from his childlike curiosity.

"You want to hear the story?" Harry asked, almost teasing.

Dudley nodded again, and Harry wondered if his head would fall off is he shook it any harder.

Harry climbed onto the bed facing his oversized cousin. "So."

_Serius Black was a wanted murder who was known to have killed many men at once, including his very own friend Peter Pettigrew. He exploded them, and all that was left was Pettigrew's finger to tell the tale. It hadn't been hard to catch him, since he was a mad man and all; he'd lurked around the area, laughing at what he'd done. The aurors – wizard cops to put it simply – grabbed him and threw him into a prison that's on an island hidden in mist. It's huge like a castle with towers and it's dark, and the worst part, is the Azkaban guards. Azkaban is the jail, see. The guards are huge monsters called Dementors who have skulls for heads, stand nine feet tall, and are covered in dark tattered robes. They float and fly around and they do the most horrible thing any monster could ever do._

Harry paused the story when he saw the now very pale Dudley trembling. "Sorry, is this too much?"

"No! Please, go on!" Dudley was almost panicked, checking outside the window as Harry was speaking. Of course, the Dursley's were terrified of anything magic related, especially monsters like these. "What do they do?" Harry continued.

_ They kiss. But it's not just a kiss, it's a kiss of death. When a Dementor kisses you, it sucks out your soul and it's supposed to actually be even _worse _than death, because your soul is living on for an eternity inside of a big black monster vacuum._

_ Now, Serius had been here for 12 years, and he couldn't get passed the guards. They can't see, but they can always sense him. So when he heard about me going to Hogwarts, he turned himself into a dog, something that the Dementors can't sense because animals don't have souls like we do._

"How'd he turn himself into a dog?"

"Let me explain."

_Animagi are a special kind of wizard who are strong enough to turn themselves into an animal. Serius can turn himself into a big black dog. So when he did, and the guards couldn't find him, he was able to escape. He found us at Hogwarts, after terrorizing the castle to do so, and then eventually was taken back to Azkaban because of the Dementors that were guarding the grounds. They almost sucked out both our souls, but I managed to save myself because I went back in t—_

"Never mind that part, that's a different story really."

_I saved us, and when I woke up in the hospital at Hogwarts, I knew that Serius was going to be killed as soon as he was returned to Azkaban. So me and my friend Hermione jumped on the back of a Hippogriff, which is a big half bird half horse that—_

"Actually, that's also a different story, continuing on.

_And then we flew out of the Hogwarts grounds all the way to Azkaban, exploded out the wall of the cell Serius was in, and rescued him._

"That's... that's it?" Dudley stuttered again.

"What do you mean that's _it_?"

"I mean... tell me the rest! Don't break it down like that."

Harry grinned, he was indeed going to tell his cousin stories for the rest of the summer he could tell. There might just be a new life for him here with the Dursleys.


	3. The Quidditch Match

Harry and Dudley had shacked up in Harry's room again, and Harry was writing Sirius, while Dudley sat and silently ate his cake.

_Dear Sirius,_

He wrote.

_The strangest this has happened. I've been getting along with Dudley, all I had to do was give him some cake! He's like some sort of dog – no offense. I've been telling him stories about school, which I'm not sure is making him like me or making him scared of me, but either way, I haven't had my face in the dirt for over a week now!_

_ I'm looking forward to going back to school, and I'm especially excited about going with Ron and his family to see the Quidditch World Cup! But I'd like to see you again before school starts up. I know that probably isn't possible..._

_ What kind of bird was that last one you sent? It's very odd looking, I like it though. It reminds me of Professor Snape._

_Hope you're well,_

_Harry._

Harry attached the letter to the strange, large, blue bird, and sent it on it's way, turning around to face his increasingly large cousin.

"What were you writing to him about?" Dudley asked through a mouthful, spitting pieces of fruit cake as he spoke.

"Oh, the Quidditch World Cup, I'm leaving soon to go with my friends, it's very exciting really, one time the game lasted for _five days_."

Dudley's eyes grew wide. "Five days? _Five?_" He said, astounded. "What is Quidditch anyway."

Harry smirked inwardly and got himself ready for yet another story. "It's a game we play on broomsticks. There's two teams, seven players on each, and there's a number of different balls. Bludgers try to kill us while we play, the Quaffle has to go through a hoop, sort of like basketball... but not really. And I have to catch the snitch, which is small and gold, has wings, and flies to fast you can hardly see it." Dudley looked at Harry, half in disbelief, and half with excited curiosity. "There was this one time..."

_Harry was twenty miles up in the air, clouds all around him, rain splattering his face and making a waterfall over his goggles. He couldn't see a thing. It had become dark out, and lighting was striking not too far away, the game was becoming dangerous – if it weren't already – and the players were all frozen to their brooms, shivering in the cold. Harry's hair was sticking to him uncomfortably, and he tried to press it up off his forehead with his gloved fingers, but it just fell right back down again with the rain. He looked around, searching for the snitch. As soon as he found it, the game could end. He began to zoom around the pitch, unable to hear the rest of the players, the audience, or the announcer over the wind and rain blasting in his ears. Thunder shook his broom with each lightning strike, and he decided to carry himself lower. He swooped down, just missing the tallest hoop which he didn't know was beneath him, and carried off beside the stands, using the bright blue colours of Ravenclaw to guide him. Something swooshed passed him, but he couldn't see what it was. He just hoped it wasn't a bludger. He continued to fly close to the stands, not wanting to get lost in the storm, or carried away by the wind, when something swooshed passed again, this time, he got a cold feeling._

_ Quickly, he pulled his broomstick up, and soared up and over the audience, looking down, trying to see what was going on below him. He couldn't see a single thing except for water. The cold feeling crept up on him again and he looked around, unable to see. Suddenly something struck him in the chest, and he grabbed it quickly. It was the snitch! It must have gotten stuck in the wind, and ran right into him. Excited for the first time in his life for the game to be over, Harry turned his broomstick towards the ground, only to be swept up in darkness. Everything went black, a sea of swirling darkness beneath him._

_ Panic caught in Harry's throat as he tried the swim through the thick pool of black, but something stopped him. He tossed the snitch into the pocket of his robes for safe keeping, and tried to look around through the ever thickening storm. Something grabbed him then, but not with hands or anything, no, this thing grabbed onto his soul, sucking it out through his mouth. _No._ Harry tried to escape, all he could feel was misery, like the world was a dark, dead place, where happiness could not exist. He reached for his wand, but couldn't get his hand into his robes with all the wind._

_ A rotting black cloak swirled around him, and for a moment he could see, though he wished he hasn't. A dead looking, decaying face of a dementor was inches away from him, sucking hungrily, eating away at his life force. He felt himself falling backward, broomstick lost._

_ As he fell, the dementors fell away from him, not fast enough to keep up with his falling speed. Suddenly though, his broomstick slid beneath him, catching him midair and they swirled back up together through the wind. Grabbing his robe, and holding it still with one hand, and reaching in with the other, only holding onto the broom with his sore legs, he was able to grab his wand out. "Expecto... Patronum!" He shouted, watching a bright silver light escape from his wand. The dementors were held off for the moment, but they wouldn't be for long._

_ Quickly he slashed through the air, making his way back down to the ground, but they were on top of him again. This time, he was not alone. Lupin and Sirius, Fred and George, and Dumbledore, had all taken his side on their own broomsticks, wands raised. Together they casted "Expecto Patronum" again, easily fighting off all of the dementors together._

_ When the monsters had finally fled, the storm began to ease up. The game continued bellow them as if nothing had ever happened, the other team hitting the bludgers away from anyone, not being able to see which player was which. But the rain began to stop, and Harry jumped off his broom onto the ground, holding up the golden snitch! The crowd applauded, chanting his name, not even knowing of what he and his friends had just accomplished above them._

"Did that _really_ happen?" Dudley asked, amazed, but not wanting to believe the story.

"Of course it did, do you think I have a good enough imagination to think that sort of thing up?"

Dudley contemplated, of course Harry didn't, but how else could you explain Harry being some sort of hero, and having... _friends_... Dudley accepted the story though, and began a huge series of questions. "What's a dementor like? What do they do? Why were they after you? What's expecto... you remember. Who's Lupin, Fred, and George? Do they really play Quidditch? Did they really play in weather that extreme?"

Harry answered all of the questions ecstatically, excited to be sharing what was, he admitted to himself, a little far off from what had actually happened.


	4. The Three Headed Dog

**A/N: What stories should Harry tell? What should happen next? What do you think? (:**

_The three headed dog snapped its jaws, scowling down at Harry and his friends. Harry wasn't going to let that thing touch them though, and was determined to slay the foul beast and save the rest of the school as well. _Fluffy _as they'd called it, was enormous. It stood almost twenty times the height of Harry, and... did I mention he had three heads? The monster gave a huff and growled so loud the floor shook, and spit flew from the monsters mouth. Harry jumped in front of Hermione just in time before she was hit with the sticky substance. See, boys took slime a lot better than girls did. The dog slapped its paw down onto the floor, trying to squish Ron who had ended up five meters away from his friends._

_ "Hermione!" Harry shouted over the dogs roars. "You help Ron, I'll distract Fluffy!"_

_ Hermione nodded and Harry dove around the dog, dodging one of its three heads as it came down and sunk its teeth into the stone floor. Ouch._

_ "Imobulus!" Harry said confidently, holding out his wand. The beast was so big, that the spell hardly did anything to stop the huge head that was snapping and reaching for the boy._

"Wait," Dudley interrupted. He was sitting awkwardly on Harry's bed, trying to make all of himself fit. No wonder the school uniform didn't come in his size... "What does that do?"

"The spell?" Harry asked. "Oh, right, just what it sounds like it does. It immobilizes things."

"Oh," Dudley said, returning to stuffing his mouth full of cake.

"_Imbulus!" Harry shouted again, this time, managing to slow the head into a sort of slow motion, before it came crashing towards him again._

"What does that one do?"

Harry sighed. "It's the same spell, Dudley." He said patiently.

Dudley nodded. "Can you show me some?" He asked.

Harry pondered. He wasn't really supposed to be doing magic outside of school... but... He did have some gag gifts from the Weasley twins that he'd received for his birthday. "Sure," he said, forgetting about the story for a moment and getting up to open his chest. "Wingardrium Leviosa," he muttered, flicking his wand. A stick that looked pretty much exactly the same as Harry's wand, floated out of the trunk and towards Dudley, before hovering in front of him waiting to be grabbed. Harry had gotten in trouble with the ministry once... for... well he wasn't exactly sure. They knew it wasn't he who had been using magic since his own under aged magic sensor hadn't gone off... Yet he was still tried for using magic, under aged, in the presence of muggles. This though, had to be worth it.

Dudley reached hesitantly for the wand, before grabbing it quickly. The thing immediately shrieked and turned itself into a rubber chicken. Dudley screamed and threw it to the other side of the bed, where Harry was bent over laughing madly.

"Harry! I'm – I'm – I'm-"

"You're not a wizard, Dudley," Harry said disapprovingly. Dudley looked most pleased with the response though, and moved on.

"Show me something better," he demanded, eyes sizing up Harry.

"Alright..." he thought for a moment, and then flicked off the lights. "Lumos," he said, flicking the wand again. Bright light shone from the end f it, lighting up most of the room. Dudley looked impressed.

"Another one!"

Harry sighed. It was like speaking to a three year old. "Expecto Patronum," he said sharply, and watched silver light pour from the end of his wand and form a creature that ran around the room, tall, proud, and powerful. "Now that's enough for the day," Harry said as he turned the light back on – the muggle way. His cousin gave him a disappointed look. "Let's just get back to the story." Dudley lit up again.

_When the dog lunged, Harry was ready for it. "Expelliarmus!" He shouted, knowing very well that the beast was not armed... but the spell would still help him. The dog through his head back and yelped, it worked!_

_ "Quick!" Hermione shouted, pointing to the exit. "Run!"_

_ Ron made to run after her as she fled for the door, but turned around when he saw that Harry was not following. "Bloody hell, Harry! Let's go!"_

_ "We can't just leave this thing in the castle, Ron!" Harry shouted, throwing more spells._

_ Ron went back to him, loyal to his best friend. He supposed they would fight and win together, or die trying. Hermione stepped up on Harry's other side, nodding to him. Together, they fought._

_ "Expelliarmus!"_

_ "Incendio!"_

_ "Imobulus!"_

_ They continued to shout, throwing magic from this way and that towards their opponent before finally it could take no more and collapsed to the ground._

_ "Right," Harry said, not even slightly out of breath. "Let's get this thing out of here."_

"Don't tell me you killed a giant three headed dog," Dudley said, not quite trusting that days story.

"Oh yeah, I mean, I couldn't have done it alone, and it wasn't dead, but we moved it into the dark forest so it couldn't hurt anyone."

"The dark forest?"

"Yeah," Harry smiled. "The place is _loaded_ with evil creatures and monsters. Students aren't even allowed in there it's so dangerous."

Screaming from downstairs brought them out of their little world though, and the boys ran downstairs to where Dudley's concerned parents stood with a rather nervous looking young woman, and a very strict looking older woman. Harry's Aunt and Uncle had been very put off by Dudley's sudden interest in Harry, it both disturbed and worried them. Unfortunately, that was not the case for their current identical expressions.

The women that stood in the living room, were the seamstresses from Dudley's school. The younger woman's eyes grew as she took in the whale of a boy standing in front of her, and the older woman "hmm"ed and pushed her glasses higher up onto her nose with squinted eyes.

"We can't do it."

"What? What do you mean you can't?" Petunia asked, voice shrill.

"That amount of fabric is just too much." The old woman tsked and wrote something down on a clipboard.

"I t-th-thought you said h-he lost w-w-weight?" The younger woman stuttered, obviously intimidated by Uncle Vernon's ever purpling face.

Harry and Dudley looked at each other nervously.


End file.
